If you are about to pick out a new fly rod for your fishing you may find the process of choosing the right rod a little confusing at first. There are so many different kinds of water onto which you can cast a fly and so many different kinds of fish that you can cast a line to. In this article I will outline some of the basics that in my opinion you will need to consider so that you choose the right fly rod for your fly fishing.
Selecting a fly Rod
The Bigger The Water The Bigger The Fly Rod
A good starting point is to give some consideration to the type of water that you will be fishing. There are many different kinds of water - small intimate little creeks and streams, medium to large sized rivers, lakes of only a few acres in size all the way up to those of thousands of acres, and the biggest piece of water of all, the ocean. So how does the size of the water we intend to fish influence our choice of fly fishing rod? Put very simply, the bigger the water the bigger the rod we will need to fish it. |
| You will Need a Different Fly Rod here than on a small River |
Larger Fish - Stronger Rod
Having already considered the size of the water that you will be fishing I would suggest that the next thing you think about is the size of the fish you intend to catch. The same piece of water in any venue can hold a number of different species of fish and those fish can vary greatly in size. Let’s take the bay of a fresh water lake for example. It might hold for example a number of surface feeding brown trout of let’s say around two to four pounds in weight. This same bay could also hold some larger predators such as pike for example which could run to twenty pounds or more which would likely be there to feed on the trout. Both of these fish - the smaller trout and the larger pike - can be caught using fly fishing tactics. It should be obvious however that the same fly rod would not be suitable for fishing for both of these species fish.
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| Make sure your Fly Rod can handle any Fish you are likely to Hook |
It's All In The Action
So far we have considered the size of water that we will be fishing and also the size of the species of fish that we will be targeting and how these factors will influence our choice of fly rod. We should now have a reasonably good idea as to the length of rod we will be aiming for and what rating of line that rod will be casting for us. The next thing we need to consider regarding our choice of fly rod is significantly less clear cut than the choosing of length and line rating for our rod. The reason for this is that we are talking about the action of the fly rod and choosing the action of the rod we will be fishing with can be very much down to the personal preference of the individual.
The action of a fly rod is generally rated in one of three ways – the rod will either be fast action, medium action or slow action. The description of fast, medium or slow in this instance refers to the speed that will be imparted into the line being cast. Put simply a fast action fly rod will be capable of generating high line speeds and tight casting loops whereas a slow action fly rod will cast the line out much more slowly and generally with larger casting loops. The action of a fly rod you could say is a measure of the flexibility of the rod – a fast action rod will be quite stiff when compared to a slow action rod which will bend much more easily under the same loading.
Fast Action Fly Rods
A stiffer fly rod will enable an angler to get a lot more speed into the fly line during the cast. This extra speed which can be achieved with a fast action rod helps greatly with achieving accuracy at distance. Also the faster the line is moving the better it will be able to cut through any wind that is blowing about. For this reason a fast action rod is often the only real option on windy days especially on larger pieces of water.
It could be said that fast action fly rods are one of the more difficult rods to fish with. When casting with a fast action fly rod your timing must be absolutely spot-on. If you are a fly fishing beginner who has not quite perfected your casting technique just yet it may be advisable to stay away from fast action fly rods for the time being as a fairly good level of casting ability is required in order to get the most out of these rods.
Medium Action Fly Rods
This class of fly rod is probably the most widely used of the three fly rod actions. Medium action fly rods have good flexibility and as such are more versatile than fast or slow action rods – they are a real all rounder. Good distance and accuracy can of course still be achieved with this type of rod. If your casting technique and timing are less than perfect a medium action fly rod is certainly much more forgiving than a fast action rod. If you are to only own one fly rod for your fly fishing then a medium action rod would be a good choice.
Slow Action Fly Rods
Slow action fly rods are the most flexible of the three action types – they will bend more and under less strain than the other two rod types. Slow action fly rods are not capable of achieving high line speeds. They are particularly suited to making short casts at close range and are an excellent choice for fishing small rivers and streams. Slow action fly rods are also a good choice for newcomers to the sport of fly fishing as the much slower line speed will give the fly fishing beginner more control over the line as they learn and practice their fly casting technique.
In Summary
Let’s summarize the points we have considered above in relation to choosing a new fly rod for casting our flies. A good starting point is to give due consideration to the type of water we will be fishing and the size of fish that we will be hoping to catch in that water. This will give us a good indication as to the length of fly rod we will need and also the line rating (or line weight) of that rod. A word of caution here – if you choose a rod that is too long it may on occasion be cumbersome or awkward but choose a rod that is too short and you may fail to reach the fish you would like to catch. I would prefer to have a rod that is too long rather than one that is too short – just my opinion.
Rod length and line weight aside we need to consider the type of action that the rod should have to best match the type of fishing we will be doing and our casting ability. A fast action rod will deliver the line quickly and accurately through the wind and at distance but will require greater casting skills on our part, a medium action rod will be more versatile and hence be suitable for a wider range of fly fishing applications and a slow action rod although not a beginners rod by any means will be easier for a beginner to handle due to the slower line speeds involved.
If you are in the market for a new fly rod I hope this article has given you some food for thought. There are many fly fishing rod companies – Scott Fly Rods, G-Loomis, Sage, Orvis and Winston to name but a few and all or most manufacture top quality fly rods with numerous features and specifications. Decide on the fly rod specifications that you require to best suit the type and style of fishing that you will be doing and then go out and find a fly rod made by a reputable manufacturer that fulfills your requirements exactly.
